


Seven Deadly Virtues

by sehunsbyuntae



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anyways, Attempt at Humor, Camping, Fluff and Angst, I Tried, M/M, Paranormal, References to Depression, Sehun is a clueless idiot, Seven Deadly Sins, chanbaek are besties, thankfully the gang is there to help him get the love of his life, this is super cringe, who happens to be his best friend, xiuchen are a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-20 02:53:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11911713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sehunsbyuntae/pseuds/sehunsbyuntae
Summary: Based on the prompt: A depressed guy moves into a haunted house with seven demons, each corresponding to a deadly sin; but they're all trying to help him get back on his feet and get it on with his best friend.In other words: Sehun's home life, love life and academic life are all gradually crumbling down until he moves into the haunted house at the outskirts of town.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first attempt at a chaptered fic with an actual plot instead of pure smut. I've been wanting to write this for months, so i finally went ahead and wrote it! Unbeta'd, so there might be mistakes.

Sehun hates everything.

 

Sehun hates his life, he hates the sky, he hates the trees, he hates that his t-shirt shrunk in the dryer last night and he hates that his stomach is growling because he woke up too late to grab breakfast from some cheap diner on his way to the middle of nowhere. He hates the long dismal highway and he hates the weather and he most especially hates his luck as he stands in front of the huge metal gates, clutching the keys to his new home.

 

Scratch that, not new home, a fucking old ass mansion.

 

He sighs.

 

 _He should be happy damn it._ This was an unbelievably good deal. The mansion is ten times larger than his old apartment that he got kicked out of after losing his job. But he had found himself growing more and more alien to the emotion known as 'happiness'. His grades in college are on a downward spiral, his funds are dwindling and he's too chicken to tell his best friend Jongin that he is love with him. Nothing in his life is going the way he had hoped when he first moved here to join college. He's pretty sure he's depressed but he's also too broke to see a therapist.

 

He had used most of his emergency savings to buy this old place at the outskirts of town at a surprisingly low price. This is his chance to start over.

 

He turns the key and pushes open the grand metal gates, stepping into the huge front yard as he looks around. The house is two stories high, years past its former glory. A large part of the building is hidden in the cool shade of the forest trees that border the back of the mansion. He's effectively in the middle of nowhere, the nearest civilization being his college town, over 20 minutes away by his old beat up truck.

 

 _"Better than being homeless"_ Sehun mutters to himself as he walks on the pebbled garden path flanked on both sides by neglected pine trees and dying vegetation, towards the large wooden doors of his new home. The path blends to a walkway which stops short at a whitewashed porch that wraps around the entire house, one of those antebellum style porches that would—ideally—have rocking chairs and swing sets and picnic tables for summer nights. This one just looks dead and sad with moss peaking between the bricks.

 

He reaches the porch, pushes the keys in to the large lock one by one, turning it a full 360° and lets out a reassured sigh when he hears the metal click that indicates the lock is indeed not jammed.

 

He pushes the large doors open.

 

A freezing cold gust of wind blows out of the house with the force of a hurricane. Sehun jumps back in alarm and stumbles - hair standing on end, goosebumps erupting all over his skin, he wraps his flannel shirt tighter over himself as he stands in the doorway, shocked.

 

 _Where did that come from?_ He's pretty sure there's no air conditioner in this skeleton of a mansion. _What could it be? A gas leak?_ But there's no smell and the force of that wind was too strong to be a simple leak.

 

_What the fuck._

 

Sehun braces himself as he slowly steps into the main living space. It's just as dead as the vegetation outside, layers of dust covering every available surface, spiderwebs hanging off the arms of the grand looking sofa set that took up half of the living room. He had been too broke to afford a cleaning service after paying for reinstalling water and gas, let alone new furniture; he has to make do with these ancient relics and hope to hell they don't crumble under his touch. They certainly look frail. At least he had the intelligence to renovate and restock the kitchen, so he wasn't going to die of starvation. 

 

He turns around and walks towards the staircase.

 

He's shaken out of his thoughts by a small tinkling sound coming from the far end of the hall, probably from one of the rooms tucked in the back. Curiosity gets the better of him when he identifies it as piano music - _sad_ piano music - and he follows the sound, pace quickening until he reaches the the end of the hall, and is faced with a huge bay window that reaches to the back protruding bosom of the house, and a small office door bathed in light. He pushes the door lightly a few times, but this one seems jammed unlike the front gates. Sehun can't blame it, the door probably hasn't been opened in a few years. Whats with the music, then?

 

He strains, listening, but the piano has fizzled into near silence, sound too soft to even seem real. Sehun squares his shoulders and returns to his trek up the stairs, determined to shake off the uneasy feeling at the back of his mind.

 

He drags his little suitcase containing all his belongings up the grand staircase on the right side that leads to a row of seven rooms on the first floor. He makes his way towards the last door and the end of the row, hoping that it would be more airy and feel less dead if it faced the back yard jungle of trees. There should be birds chirping out there, right?

 

The sweat on his back has cooled enough to feel almost like a chill, which is ridiculous, considering how hot it should be at the top floor of the house with no ventilation. When he reaches forward and grabs the aged metal door knob of his new room to turn it, he feels the device shudder against the heat of his palm, as if the door hasn’t been opened in years and weeps with relief at the opportunity.

 

The hinges creak, and Sehun makes a note to snatch some oil from the kitchen to loosen them up. The rubber soles of his sandals swish with soft sound as he walks forward, pressing upon dusty wooden floors that look as tarnished as he’s sure the large window across the room will be once he pulls back the heavy curtain.

 

The room certainly looks less unwelcoming than the rest of the house, Sehun notes as he pulls his suitcase up on the bed and notices the absence of spiderwebs. He walks the parameter, takes in the (surprisingly) clean and comfy looking mattress that could easily fit three people on it, the ledge near the window just above an electric plug-in unit. There’s a walk in closet and next to it, a bathroom. His own bathroom. Complete with an incredibly deep sink and a big ass shower that he can’t wait to test the water pressure of, out of place in a house that’s supposed to be hundreds of years old. He flicks the light switch experimentally, tests the faucets, all good.

 

There’s also a claw footed bathtub next to the shower, that looks really really inviting to Sehun, who is tired off his ass by now. It is also clean, he notes happily - the guys who came to fix the water and electric boards probably did him a favor, taking pity on his condition.

 

He gets up and takes off his flannel shirt and runs the water, intending to take a relaxing bath right the fuck now.

 

**_THUD._ **

 

The loud sound coming from the room outside almost makes Sehun jump out of his skin.

 

Confused, he wraps a towel around himself and peeks from behind the bathroom door at the room.

 

His suitcase that he had put on the middle of the bed was now on the floor, clothes strewn haphazardly as if a tornado had ransacked the room within the five seconds that he was in the bathroom.

 

Sehun feels the unease creeping back up his spine. _Could there be squatters in here? What if they were violent?_ This was a huge abandoned mansion tucked away from town and Sehun wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be full of meth heads or the hub of drug dealers.

 

He glances out the window - it's getting really dark. Should he call someone? Maybe call Jongin to come stay over for tonight? He was his only close friend at this point.

 

Sehun decided against it. Jongin was probably busy or tired from his dance club practice - he quickly shoved away the thoughts of a sweat slick Jongin taking his shirt off threatening to spill into his mind - and they'd see each other tomorrow at college anyway. He could fill him in about it all then, no point in calling him up now.

 

Sehun makes his way back into the room. He needs to clean this up, fix himself a supper and sleep if he wants to make it to the first day of college after the summer vacation. As long as he doesn't get killed by angry meth head squatters hiding under his bed.

 

He sighs as he starts picking up his belongings.

 

The rest of the night thankfully goes without incident.

 

___________________________________

 

Sehun doesn’t hate people, there just happens to be a large part of him which keeps in mind that in his twenty years of being alive, he has learned one solid fact about people: they disappoint you. They lie or they leave or they turn out to be twice as shitty as you thought they were originally. It’s not like they can help it, few people are aware of just how terrible they are, so Sehun doesn’t blame them for it and Sehun doesn’t judge them for it. He doesn’t hate people, he just understands them.

 

Today, however, with cloudy suffocating weather and continuously pounding rain against his bed room window and an alarm that just won’t take Snooze for an answer? Today Sehun actually hates people.

 

He turns on the radio full blast on some rock music station as he drives his way towards Xaviers Arts College with a piece of dry toast hanging between his teeth – his breakfast on the go. He plugs in his headphones as he parks his truck in the college parking lot and plays the loudest song on his track list and even then it’s still not enough to block out the wall of sound that greets him, yelling and shuffling and doors slamming. Sehun wants to collapse in a corner and sleep some more but he walks as quickly as humanly possible to his History major class, finding no reason to be late and have to enter with everyone staring at him. He goes straight for the back desk, the oasis in hell, and sits, burying his head in his arms. The next song on his playlist has the lead singer screaming in his ear about feeling numb or some shit and he sinks into the angry crash of guitars like someone sinks into a hot tub, warm and welcoming. He’s got fifteen minutes to ride out before the real torture of his History class begins, he can do this, he’s got this.

 

Something—someone—nudges his shoulder.

 

He looks up, ready to snap at anyone who's pretentious enough to think they deserve Sehun's attention right now - only to be greeted with Kim Jongin's large brown eyes staring intently at him, currently scrunched in concern.

 

Sehun feels his anger ebb away slowly, replaced with a twinge of happiness and reproach.

 

He hates that he was crushing on his best friend. _Hates it._ Jongin is the only person who has stuck with him through Sehun's fall out with his parents, through Sehun's abusive relationship with Donghae and the subsequent messy break up. Sehun hates that he wants to jeopardize all that for a chance to kiss Jongin. But him hating it wouldn't change the fact that he wants it - _craves it_ \- more than anything.

 

"CAN YOU TAKE OFF YOUR HEAD PHONES??" Jongin all but shouts.

 

Sehun is shaken out of his contemplation and he hurriedly pulls out his headphones, throwing a sheepish smile at Jongin who looks even more concerned now.

 

"What are you doing here so early? Classes don't start for another fifteen minutes. I've been looking for you all over campus! I thought you bunked without telling me but I knew you'd never do that so I tried calling you but there's something wrong with your phone and I've been trying to call since last night to ask about your new house but it keeps going to static-" Jongin rants in one breath as he flops down on the table in front of Sehun and brings his face incredibly close "-so I was worried." he finishes.

 

"Uhh..." Sehun struggles to find his words as he tries to stop his stomach from doing back flips at how close Jongin is "... well I told you I moved to the outskirts of town, maybe that's why there's no cell reception?" he offers.

 

"Oh, yeah right. How is it? your new home?" Jongin asks and so Sehun fills him in, tells him the details and how he's afraid of depressed-piano-playing-druggies murdering him in his sleep. "Maybe you've got yourself a depressed Casper-the-friendly-ghost" Jongin suggests and then he's laughing at his own stupid joke and Sehun rolls his eyes before retorting, "With my luck it's probably the Grim Reaper playing a funeral tune."

 

"Could be worse. You could've had a ghost who is a Nickelback fan and plays them full volume all day." Jongin replies and then he's laughing and Sehun's laughing and it all just feels nice. He realizes that _this_ \- this stupidly meaningless banter with Jongin - this is the first time Sehun has felt genuinely happy in _days._ Maybe weeks. Maybe in the entire two months of Summer vacation. 

 

Maybe, just maybe he can survive college and his weird living conditions as long as he has Jongin by his side.

 

_________________________________________________________

 

Sehun closes the heavy wooden main doors behind him as he steps into his house at the end of his first week of college after vacation. He is in a slightly better mood than when he left that morning - much of that owing to Jongin's promise of dropping by that Sunday. It was only Friday, so he had a free day tomorrow, but Sehun suspected it'll take him a couple of days to make this graveyard a presentable living space. If he ever found the motivation, that is.

 

He goes to get his towel and other toiletries from the closet but again, for the third time that week, finds them not there.

 

Sehun’s never considered himself to be a forgetful person. An idiot, sure, a loser and a pathetic waste of space and every other playground insult he can pull, sure. But not forgetful. Yet within the last week he’s misplaced a large majority of the personal belongings in his room. Deodorant, shoes, socks, shoelaces, underwear, pens, headphones, all at times when Sehun needs them the most.

 

He had initially suspected squatters, but dismissed the idea when he found none of his items actually stolen.

 

Time and time again he’s torn apart his room, only to discover the items a few hours or days later exactly where he had left them in the first place. The combination of lost items and unsuccessful searches for said items has had Sehun in a week long simmering rage that makes him feel volatile and unhealthily on edge. People at college avoid making eye contact in the hallway and professors typically don’t even try to call on him in class, which must mean the vibe he’s giving off is seriously bad news.

 

Not that Sehun is complaining. The space is almost a reward, if he weren’t in such a shitty mood to begin with.

 

He pulls apart his room for what feels like the hundredth time that week, only to find his bag of toiletries under the bed with his towel wrapped around it.

 

Sehun goes straight to his bathroom and showers until the mirror fogs up, enjoying an opportunity to scrub the week off of him. He steps out, tucking a towel around his waist and groping for the tube of face wash with full knowledge that he probably looks like a wild man with a week’s worth of dirt on his face. Quick wash, then supper, then he's gonna bury himself in the comfort of his bed. Then back to Hell for a full week of Advanced Education™.

 

Sehun’s almost starting to feel relaxed, slathering potent amounts of scented face wash onto his face, the tension eased off his shoulders for the first time since the start of the week.

 

He’s got one hand lathering the wash on his jaw in just the right manner when the hair on the back of his neck stands straight up. There’s no gust of wind that explains the cold that settles on him like a thin sheet of sweat, but it’s there. He can feel it.

 

_What the hell?_

 

Sehun stills, lowering his hands and staring straight ahead at his reflection. The mirror’s a bit foggy, but he can see himself clearly, see the open space behind him.

 

Apart from him, the bathroom is empty, he’s more than sure of it.

 

But then, he’s equally sure there’s also someone in the bathroom with him.

 

He can’t explain how he knows it, he just fucking knows it. It doesn’t matter that he can’t see them; it doesn’t matter that he can’t hear them. They’re here. With Sehun.

 

Most likely getting ready to kill him from behind the shower curtain or something, he wouldn’t even be surprised at this rate.

 

Sehun’s skin feels static, the water droplets on his skin cooling and causing his forearms to break out in goose bumps. He drags a shaking hand over his face, removing most of the lather in the process. This doesn’t make sense, because this isn’t even possible. He’s got to be losing it. First with the falling and missing possessions, then imagining the piano playing, and now this? No. This is too far. Sehun has clearly spent too much time rejecting human company and now the isolation is clearly addling his brain. He’s stir crazy, he’s hallucinating, but he is not—repeat, _not_ —thinking that there is another person, another something, in this bathroom with him.

 

He slaps his cheek a few times, causing the lather to spatter, chalking it up to not getting enough sleep last night, forcing his hands still as he reaches forward to pick up his towel. He leans over the sink and angles his jaw just as before, and notices that the steam on the bathroom mirror is moving.

 

Not moving in the typical condensation-is-gathering-and-dripping way, but _moving. Moving-because-some-unknown-fucking-object-is-pushing-it-around-thank-you-very-much_ moving. The steam is being moved, but there is nothing there to move it, because Sehun’s standing stock still, and unless he unknowingly sprouted an autonomous arm that immediately got to work and started finger-painting away on the mirror, there’s no one else who could do it.

 

And yet steam continues to move, shape and form into familiar lines that slowly but surely turn into an H, then an E and onwards and onwards until

 

H-E-Y T-H-E-R-E

 

Sehun stares, mouth agape, and if the goose bumps suddenly become goose mountains and he starts to quake a little in his towel, well, there isn’t a goddamn person in this world who can fault him because this? This is _un-fucking-real._ His teeth are chattering and for some odd reason he feels the need to cover up his naked chest, crossing his arms instinctively like there’s something from which he needs to hide or protect himself.

 

The spirit, the presence, whatever the hell is sending him a Hallmark Bathroom Greeting card, pauses towards the end of the angular bottom of the ‘E’ and, as an afterthought, tacks on a semi-colon and a close bracket after the end of the word.

 

HEY THERE ;)

 

Great. It knows how to flirt. How _quaint._

 

There's a sudden burst of loud thunder outside and Sehun jumps a feet in to the air.

 

The interruption is just the boost of courage and reality that Sehun needs to stride forward and swipe the mirror clean, no trace of the message behind.

 

He runs out of the bathroom, still wearing a towel and drenched in sweat in spite of the cold. The sky outside his bedroom window is pitch black, and he can hear the sound of rain pounding against glass.

 

He shakes his head. He's just tired, so he's hallucinating - Sehun desperately tries to convince himself because this? This just can't be happening.

 

Here’s the thing.

 

Ghosts, _they’re not real._

 

Like most truths of humanity and life, there are a select few things Sehun is very sure of, beliefs and practically, natural laws that just are and there should never be a reason to question them and any situation that does cause one to question them probably means they should in fact be questioning their own sanity.

 

The sky is blue, the sun rises in the East, and there is no such thing as ghosts.

 

_There’s no such thing as ghosts._

 

 _There’s no such thing as ghosts_ is what Sehun tells himself, at least, as he practically throws himself in to the warmth of his bed.

 

 _There’s no such thing as ghosts_ is what he thinks, turning around to stare out the dark window, pulling the sheets upto his chin.

 

 _There’s no such thing as ghosts,_ he reminds himself as he closes his eyes, hoping to hell that it's true.

 

__________________________________________________

 

The alarm ring goes off at bum fuck early in the morning and Sehun’s never felt more prone to homicide. He swings his arm out of bed, swipes blindly for the snooze button in his alarm clock and jumps when his hands make contact with a decidedly different and rather fuzzy object.

 

He sits up on the bed and opens his eyes only to realize that it's still incredibly dark outside. There's no light pouring in through the window even though the rain seems to have stopped. Or maybe it didn't stop and Sehun can't hear the sound of water pounding against glass because of the deafeningly loud, rather dramatically morose music that seems to be ringing throughout the house. That's _definitely_ not his alarm clock.

 

He's used to nightmares. He's used to drowning, being choked to death, falling off cliffs in his dreams. He's used to waking up vomiting and crying and screaming and wanting everything to end. But this? Waking up to dramatic music and possible hamsters on his table are not part of his regular nightmares. Maybe he's finally snapped. Maybe he's going crazy, turning into a drooling empty mess, a shell of the Sehun he was before his life started going downhill.

 

Theres a burst of thunder and lightning outside his window and Sehun gets a glimpse of the thing on his bed side table.

 

It seems to be two bright pink fur balls connected by a chain.

 

There's another burst of lightning. Sehun squints harder.

 

 _Fuzzy pink handcuffs._ The kind you see at cheesy strip clubs.

 

Sehun gawks.

 

**What the fuck is happening.**

 

He suddenly feels entirely too cold for an August night and wishes he had something on other than boxers and a ratty old tank top. The music seems to grow steadily louder and more dramatic.

 

He feels across the side of his bed, looking for his cell phone and sighs in relief when he finally finds it. _It's 3:07 am._

 

He flashes the night light on and attempts to get out of bed, but freezes when two warm hands wrap themselves around his waist.

 

 _"Where do you think you're going, baby?"_ a sultry voice breathes against his nape.

 

Sehun screams.

 

He jumps out of the warm grip, flailing wildly and screeching his head off. The room is incredibly cold and the music has stopped. The light from his phone catches the owner of the hands and Sehun freezes on spot immediately, blood running cold.

 

There's a man on his bed. A man in his late teens or early twenties wearing nothing but a flimsy black unbuttoned shirt, black leather pants and a black leather choker around his neck. He's short and small, streaks of red scattered among black tousled hair. His smooth pale skin seems to glow in the dark. He's breathtakingly beautiful and the smirk gracing his soft pink lips is incredibly suggestive. Sehun would probably be sporting a boner if it weren't for the fact that the boy's cute droopy eyes - under all the smokey eye shadow - was solid _black._

 

The boy - _the thing_ \- seems to be entirely too happy at Sehun's distress. He got on all fours and starts creeping across the bed towards Sehun, making a show of arching his back and wiggling his hips.

 

Sehun's head is spinning. He backs away a few steps and feels his back hit the closet door. He frantically searches for the handle, pushing it open and slamming the doors shut as he runs inside the congested little space of the closet.

 

"Come out of the closet baby, we both know you like what you see" the boy whispers invitingly as he slams open the closet door with a mere flick of his finger and walks in, eyes fixated on Sehun, "Don't you want to touch?" he smirks.

 

Sehun, despite himself, feels arousal pooling deep in his abdomen. He hasn't gotten laid since his break up. He craves another person's touch and he feels his resolve easily crumbling, fear giving way to lust.

 

"Atta boy." says the thing as he closes the little distance between them and wraps his plush pink lips against the curve of Sehun's jaw, one hand reaching up to curl into Sehun's hair, the other sneaking under his tank top, warmth pressing flat against his lower stomach, making his dick twitch in interest.

 

Sehun's breath hitches. He feels dizzy and high as if he's addicted, the mere proximity of the boy making his world spin upside down. Sehun trails his hand along the boys back, the latter moaning and melting in to his touch. He moves his hand down to cup his ass and closes his eyes, letting himself give in.

 

The door flies open with a loud **BANG** and both of them jump apart.

 

Six men stand in the doorway, all in their early twenties, all wearing black clothing, but none quite as revealing as the boy in Sehun's arms. With rising fear Sehun noticed that all their eyes are solid black as well.

 

This is it. This is the end. He's gonna die tonight and he isn't even gonna get laid.

 

Before Sehun can utter a word of his dying wish, the man at the very front, a rather small man with short cropped brownish hair stomps straight past Sehun and with a flick of his wrist pins the other boy against the wall.

 

 _"Baekhyun"_ he hisses at the choker clad boy, "how many times have I told you to _fucking quit this shit?"_

 

The boy, Baekhyun, seems rather unconcerned despite his current helpless position.

 

"Kyungsoo," he whisperes, voice still sultry and suggestive, "you know how I get when I see something I want. This one -" his gaze turns to Sehun "- I _definitely_ want."

 

Sehun is aware of all seven sets of black eyes turning to stare at him. He whimpers. Baekhyun licks his lips.

 

One of the boys in the doorway - a blonde haired, high cheekboned guy - lets out a loud "ooh, this is gonna be interesting." He pulls out a packet of popcorn out of nowhere and pushes a handful into his mouth. The cat-eyed boy next to him grabs a handful as well. The tall black haired guy behind them groans.

 

"Okay, both of you- just stop. You're scaring him." a curly dark brown haired boy says from the doorway. He saunters forward and flops down on Sehun's bed, rolling and stretching like a cat, "It's tiring to put up with you two fighting all the time. I don't have energy for this. Let him go, Kyungsoo. And Baekhyun - stop trying to bone the poor boy." He finishes with a sigh and instantly curls up in the comforter.

 

Kyungsoo releases Baekhyun from the invisible binds with a flick of his hand, but stands his ground, still glaring daggers at him.

 

"That was kinky," Baekhyun smirks "lets do that again when we're alone" he winks at Kyungsoo.

 

Sehun's missing alarm clock comes flying through the air and Baekhyun ducks just in time to avoid it smashing into his head. Kyungsoo huffs a laugh.

 

"Junmyeon! He's trying to murder me _again!_ " Baekhyun whines at the brown haired boy now curled up on the mattress, but he seems to be fast asleep to Sehun. The black haired tall boy who had groaned earlier is now slumped against the headboard beside the Junmyeon guy, looking incredibly zoned out.

 

"Hey there," Baekhyun turns to look back at Sehun. He blinks once and the black eyes are gone, replaced by human ones, but his demeanor stays the same, "care to resume our adventures?" he cocks an eyebrow.

 

The tallest boy, standing in the doorway moves forward. His pinkish dyed hair was styled up handsomely making him look quite an intimidating figure in a crisp black shirt. He turns towards him and Sehun notices his eyes are now human as well. He turns to look at the others staring at him and realizes all their eyes look human. He shakes his head in confusion and the tall boy snorts. "I don't understand what you see in him, Baek. He's utterly average looking and rather dull in the head." His voice is deep and authoritative and Sehun shivers a little in spite of the insult.

 

"He doesn't need to see anything in the boy. As long it has two thumbs and can move, Baekhyun will want to bone it." Kyungsoo drawls from where he's now sitting on the bed.

 

Sehun is too confused at what was happening around him to react to the direct insults being thrown his way. _Who the fuck are these people?_ Or rather _what_ are they? They seem to have enough powers to break his neck with a snap of their finger, but so far none of them had seemed particularly interested in the idea. Except maybe Baekhyun, who - well. Sehun's jaw was still wet from those plush lips.

 

Maybe they don't want to murder him and feast on his corpse? It was worth a shot. Sehun clears his throat loudly.

 

"Er... If you don't mind me asking... who or what are you?" he managed to mumble out.

 

" _What_ are we? That's racist" the blonde guy's eyes flash black again. Sehun feels the air leave his lungs.

 

"Stop joking and leave him alone, Jongdae. You'll scare him." Baekhyun chides. The blonde haired boy - Jongdae - and the cat-eyed boy beside him giggle, eyes back to human.

 

Baekhyun approaches Sehun, who is still standing with his back pressed against the wall, trying to distance himself from these people.

 

"Don't worry I'm not gonna try to jump you again," Baekhyun held his hands up in surrender "I rather prefer consent when I bring the handcuffs and gags out." his eyes flick down to Sehun's lips and back up.

 

Sehun is starting to question his sanity.

 

"We'le the Theven Deadly Thins." Jongdae announces around a mouthful of pop corn that the cat eyed boy is now feeding him.

 

 _"The what thins?"_ Sehun asks, confused. It sounds like a shitty diet biscuit brand name.

 

"You're hopeless" Baekhyun rolls his eyes at Jongdae and the cat-eyed boy, both of who just shrug.

 

"We're the demons representing the Seven Deadly Sins." Baekhyun explains to a bewildered Sehun.

 

"Like the ones that are supposed to bring in the Biblical apocalypse?" Sehun inquires. The seven people standing - and sleeping - in front him seem like the farthest things from the intimidating imagery his History of Religions books depict.

 

"Yup. I'm Baekhyun, Demon of Lust," he winks at Sehun before continuing, "This murderous person here is Kyungsoo, Demon of Wrath." he points at the short haired boy who keeps glaring at him.

 

"That is Junmyeon, Demon of Sloth, or Laziness or whatever you wanna call him. He rarely gives a fuck." he points at the sleeping dude. "The two lovebirds over there -" he points at Jongdae and cat-eyed dude, "- are Jongdae, Demon of Gluttony and Minseok, Demon of Greed. They are mushy and disgusting." Baekhyun pretends to gag. Jongdae and Minseok don't seem to mind, each feeding the other popcorn.

 

"And that is Yixing, Demon of Sorrow. You can usually find him sulking around in the piano room downstairs. He loves to be dramatic." Baekhyun gestures to the zoned out tall guy who seems to gain his senses long enough to flash Sehun a rather sad but warm smile before zoning out again.

 

"Was he the one playing the piano all this time?" Sehun looks from Baekhyun to Yixing and back to Baekhyun who nods. 

 

"You're really talented. I liked the stuff you played!" Sehun says, approaching, trying to cheer up the guy.

 

"Thank you. But what's the use? I'll never be able to play in front of crowds. I wish I could do that. That would've been cool. Oh! And I can also compose" he smiles a little, which brings out deep dimples. It makes him look incredibly handsome and Sehun's heart flutters a little. He turns around to see Baekhyun smiling happily at Yixing as well.

 

"I can do that too." drawls the tall pink haired boy from behind them, looking unimpressed, "I can also play drums and guitar."

 

"What the hell, Chanyeol?!" Baekhyun turns on his heel and is now glaring at the pink haired boy who looks rather taken aback at the sudden harshness.

 

"This douchebag is Chanyeol, Demon of Pride," Baekhyun is still glaring disapprovingly at Chanyeol who looks as if he's deflating under the gaze, "he's my best friend and at times like this I wonder why." At this point Chanyeol looks like a kicked puppy.

 

Baekhyun seems to notice it too, because he continues, "He's a really really nice guy, just doesn't know what not to say or when not to say it. Ends up hurting peoples feelings a lot because of his slight narcissistic streak, but what do you expect? He's the demon of Pride. He doesn't mean to hurt people though, he's actually a softie."

 

Chanyeol is now back to smirking proudly and Sehun can't help but smile. It's kind of adorable how much this tall, intimidating man behaves like a puppy. He could almost picture a wagging tail behind the boy at the small praise.

 

"So, like... what are you guys doing here? Do you want something from me?" Sehun asks, still confused "Am I the antichrist or something?"

 

Kyungsoo lets out a snort while Chanyeol out right laughs.

 

"Oh, that's some bullshit. There's no apocalypse coming. We are here because this is our house and you were in my bed." Baekhyun smirks pointedly at Sehun, "Not that I mind. I figured you wanted some action, and I was more than happy to offer. We would've had some pretty good times if these idiots hadn't barged in. I had some stuff planned; _the handcuffs_ -"

 

 _"Stop stop stop stop -"_ Sehun cuts him off before the other goes into excruciating details; it's not wise to pop a boner in front of seven demons. He shakes his head trying to clear his thoughts. Baekhyun's still eyeing him up and Kyungsoo looks disgusted. Chanyeol seems enamoured in his reflection in the mirror.

 

"Okay, but what do you mean your house? your bed? _I bought it!_ " Sehun finally feels a million questions crowding back into his mind.

 

"Sorry to tell you kid, you bought a haunted house." Kyungsoo says.

 

"I'm not a kid! _I'm twenty!_ " Sehun retorts, indignant.

 

"I'm a few million years old, but okay." Kyungsoo seems completely unamused.

 

Sehun stares.

 

"Well, just in case you didn't notice our black eyes, _we are demons,_ aren't we?" Kyungsoo deadpans at Sehun's blank face, "Our corporeal forms never age. All of us have been the same age since the beginning of creation."

 

"Oh. Umm... Can't you just go haunt somewhere else, then?" Sehun tentatively offers.

 

Apparently he crossed a line, because Kyungsoo's eyes flash solid black.

 

"We have been living here for decades. These seven rooms are ours, you're currently in Baekhyun's. _Sort your life out, because we're **not** moving._ " Kyungsoo spits out through gritted teeth, voice filled with venom. He stands up and storms straight past all of them and out of the room, making several object fall from their places in his wake.

 

Sehun looks at Baekhyun, confused and a little scared. He was about to ask Baekhyun what the fuck happened when he notices movement out of the corner of his eye.

 

He turns to stare at the source and sees Junmyeon stretching on the bed, apparently awaken from his impromptu nap by the cacophony of falling objects.

 

"That's enough for today, guys, we have stuff to do." Junmyeon announces, and he turns to look at Sehun, "We'll see you later." he says before he grabs Yixing, and then they're out of the room in the blink of an eye, followed closely by Minseok and Jongdae, who don't even spare a glance at Sehun.

 

Sehun looks from Chanyeol to Baekhyun, fearing his head might explode at this point.

 

"I guess I'll be seeing you again pretty soon, I hope you'll be staying in my bed." Baekhyun smirks before beckoning Chanyeol and then both of them are gone as well, leaving behind a flabbergasted Sehun standing alone in an empty room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like it? There will be five chapters with a small epilogue.   
> I'll be updating as soon as I get time!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had time so here's another chapter!

Sehun flumps down on his, no - Baekhyun's - bed, and thinks. Thinks really hard.

 

The options Sehun has for exactly how to deal with a situation like this are as such; He can pretend none of this happened and keep ignoring it and probably be killed in his sleep for his rudeness by Kyungsoo; He can tell Jongin or maybe the real estate guy he bought this house from and get shipped off to the nearest psych-ward; Or he can wake up from this nightmare and get back to real life (he’s been waiting for that to happen since he was eighteen years old. It still hasn’t) or he can deal with this.

 

Sehun is good at dealing with things, pre-programmed with the notion of adapting or perishing. He didn't complain when his parents kicked him out because he was gay, he didn't complain when him and Donghae fought over the pettiest things to the point of violence. He didn't complain when got fired from his job for no fault of his or when he got kicked out of his apartment for just a month of unpaid rent. He’s taken the fact that life sucks at face value, and he’s rolled with it, grown from it, become stronger for it.

 

He’s done enough adapting in the last three years to be considered a Darwinist Miracle by this point. Surely after all that, he can deal with this, right?

 

Sehun sits there and he thinks, allows the new reality and adaption to slide and clink into a place of acceptance, like a quarter to a gumball machine.

 

Okay. _So demons are real._

 

Sadly enough, in Sehun’s book of shitty life experiences; it’s not the worst thing he’s ever had to come to terms with. But living with seven demons in a house on the outskirts of town? Well...

 

_They seemed friendly,_ Sehun thinks. _But they're demons! Are you really going to trust them?_ a voice whispers in his head and Sehun punches his pillow in frustration. He's not gonna give up a perfectly livable house and become a hobo because of some twinky little overtly sexual demon and his weird gang; he doesn't care how many millenias they haunted this house. _Sehun paid to live here damn it._

 

He needs to know more about these Sins or whatever to get any idea of what to do next, Sehun finally decides.

 

He glances at his phone. 8:15 am. The town library opens at 9 am. He's definitely gonna have to find something there.

 

Sehun hurriedly puts on a t-shirt and jeans, and glances out of a crack in the door to make sure the hallway is empty. He has to leave before the demons get to know about his plan and try to violently decapitate him, so breakfast can wait.

 

As soon as he's sure he won't be intercepted by an angry alarm clock throwing demon, he runs straight down the stairs and out of the main doors towards his car. Getting in his rusty old vehicle, he makes a beeline for the town square library.

 

Unlike what seems to be every other building in the main town square, the library is huge. At least, large enough to give half the libraries he’s seen a run for their money; and Sehun has spent a lot of time in a lot of libraries.

 

It’s empty, thank God. He checks over his shoulder, casting a wary glance around before ducking off to the side, avoiding the main atrium and delving into the deepest part of the book stacks. This is research Sehun probably could have done in his own room (if functioning WiFi that wasn’t the speed of a glacier was a thing that existed in the fucking haunted ass mansion), but with the unwelcome paranormal guests and Sehun’s impending mental breakdown it seems like a better idea that he conducts his research in an open and safe space, where he’s sure no one will read over his shoulder. Not that he has any more idea what he’s doing here than he would at home, but he at least feels safer.

 

Sehun walks to a computer that looks like it’s from the early nineties, and settles in for the long haul.

 

It takes him a minute of staring at the blank Google search bar before he so much as makes a move towards the keys.

 

_Just say it,_ he thinks, giving himself a headache with how hard it is to type the words. He thinks of the cringey horror flicks he's seen over the years, a scene where some random bimbo looks comically enlightened as she whispers _"he might be a vampire!"_ to absolutely no one's surprise.

 

Sehun scoffs, he refuses to be that overdramatic about a situation that needs to be dealt with.

 

_"Demons,”_ he sighs out loud, punching each of the letters with individual vigor.

 

An hour and a half later, he’s come up with nothing.

 

There’s loads of websites on paranormal activity, make no mistake, pages and pages of firsthand accounts and ‘proof’ that has Sehun rolling his eyes so hard he thinks he’s going to strain something. Honestly. People see their own reflection and shout **‘Satan!’** into the internet abyss, or so it seems.

 

Apart from general wackadoos and religious nuts and fantasy-television series fans, few of these people actually seem to know what they’re talking about, and even those who do sound like complete and utter jackasses. Sehun pours over web pages, tries different search subjects, all the variations of the word ‘Demons' and 'Seven Deadly Sins' he can think of, but all he hits upon is a vast vast amount of urban legends and utter bullshit. There’s no way in hell he’s going to pay forty dollars for a _demon repellent spray_ or magical crystals to _“keep the entities in your home at bay”._

 

He finally gives up, on the verge of banging his head in frustration after a link leads him straight to a Bible Studies group page urging him to _"let the Lord enter your heart to banish the Seven Dark Demons."_

 

He sighs. This isn't gonna work. He needs help to find what he's looking for, and the only person who might be willing is Jongin.

 

Sehun brings out his phone and fidgets with it. He just can't bring himself to tell Jongin the truth. He'll think Sehun's batshit crazy and that might be the end of their friendship and any chance he has at a relationship. As much as it feels awkward to lie to his middle school best friend, Sehun has no other way. He presses "call".

 

The phone rings twice before Jongin's warm deep voice greets Sehun:

 

"Hey, whats up?"

 

"Nothing much, listen. I need your help for something. Do you have anything on the topic of demons?" Sehun blutters out.

 

"I- what... _Demons_?" Jongin sounds utterly confused, " _What do you mean,_ demons?"

 

"Like the paranormal biblical kind, you know?" Sehun presses on, "The ones with superpowers and stuff?"

 

"I dunno, read the Bible I guess? Why on earth do you need info on demons?"

 

"uhhhh..." Sehun panics, he should've made up a story before calling - he mentally kicks himself - "I'm just reading up on old time occults and shit for a paper on the historical importance of the paranormal." he manages to spill out. _Lame._

 

Jongin seems to think so too, because he replies with, "Why don't you just ask help from your professor?"

 

"Oh... of course, yes... I- I'll do that, then..." Sehun stammers. stupid, stupid, he's _so fucking stupid._ "... so bye, I guess. See you tomorrow?" he really wants to neck himself at this point.

 

"Okay, are you sure you'll be fine? You have a paper due so if you want to postpone -" Jongin starts but Sehun cuts him off with a thousand reassurances that he is completely free and Jongin should totally come over until his best friend agrees. He finally hangs up and turns to the computer again, slight blush on his cheeks.

 

He's contemplating just giving up on everything and leaving for the mountains to spend the rest of his life as a hermit when a shadow falls over his small lit corner in the depths of the library.

 

He turns around in his seat and comes face to chest with someone. Startled, he lets out a very undignified squeak and rolls his chair back to look at the girl's face instead of her chest.

 

Even though Sehun is gay as a rainbow, he can't deny that the girl is extremely pretty, short wavy brown hair almost reaching her shoulders, beautiful sparkly eyes and a genuine smile tilting her lips upwards. And she’s clutching not one, but two bars of chocolate. What’s even weirder is she’s holding one out towards Sehun, as if it’s for him.

 

Sehun looks down at her hand, then back up, brow furrowing. What is she doing?

 

Her smile looks jovial enough, but Sehun can’t help but feel defensive. It’s rare that people talk to Sehun, and if they do, it’s typically because they want something.

 

Call him a cynic, but he’s never wrong about this one.

 

“May I have a seat?” she asks.

 

If Sehun’s muteness is a turn-off, it’s not one she pays heed to. She drops the bar of chocolate on Sehun's lap, pulling out a wooden chair and seating herself in a way that’s a little too close for comfort for Sehun. Not invasive, but friendly, like she’s known Sehun her whole life.

 

He doesn’t like it when people know him. Even less when they act like they think they do.

 

She's wearing what seems to be a uniform, and Sehun notices the official looking badge on her chest - a name tag, so she must be a worker here. He squints to read the name tag clearer but he probably looks like he’s checking out her chest again, so he looks back up at her still smiling face then at the chocolate on his lap.

 

“Thanks, uh,” Sehun glances surreptitiously at her chest again.

 

“Amber.” She grins brilliantly, seemingly charmed by Sehun’s horribly awkward socializing skills. “PhD in Library Science, resident small time youtuber, movie addict and expert maker of chocolate muffins.”

 

Sehun blinks, feeling disarmed and attacked for no reason whatsoever. “Nice to meet you, Amber.” He nods curtly before falling awkwardly silent again.

 

“So,” she presses on as he takes a bite of the chocolate so that he has something to do. “What kind of project are you working on? What’s your dissertation?”

 

“What?”

 

“I mean, you’re in college, right? It’s just, I don’t see college students come along and sit for as long as you are. You’ve gotta be a student from Xaviers or Central, right?”

 

“I’m in Xaviers,” Sehun blurts, sounding absolutely offended despite not actually feeling so. “But this isn’t for college.” No point in lying.

 

"But weren't you asking your friend about Demons for a paper?" she asks.

 

_"You were eavesdropping on me?"_ Sehun asks, actually offended this time.

 

"No, you just looked like you were about to bash your head in so I was gonna ask you if you needed any help and I just happened to catch your conversation and it caught my interest, so I listened."

 

"So you were indeed eavesdropping?" Sehun asks incredulously.

 

_“I did not say that."_ She waves her hand as if swatting away the accusation, "I’ve never seen a college goer sit still for as long as you do. I should have known. _Demons and Occult?_ Way too cool of a subject for a college project.” Amber winks conspiratorially as Sehun sputters. “Sorry! I just kept thinking _‘this dude can’t be searching for porn, can he?’_ I mean with young guys who come here to use the computers, it’s usually porn. So I just walked by a few times for a little check and I just happened to catch a few headlines of what you were reading. I mean you were pouring over the web for _demon stuff!_ Lemme guess, you’re writing a scary story? Making a short film? Trying to find something to do for Halloween?”

 

This woman talks way too fast, and way too much. But it allows Sehun to mull around his options in his head, figure out an excuse that doesn’t make him sound mentally unstable. Amber looks cool enough that she could probably handle him either way, but he’s learned by now not to take risks.

 

“Just curious.” He shrugs, attempting what he thinks is a charming smile but probably looks like he smells a rotten egg. “There’s not a lot of stuff to do here. ‘M pretty bored.”

 

“Sorry but, if you’re trying to find the nearest cemetery so you can try and summon a spirit come Halloween, you’re barking up the wrong tree.” Amber sighs, kicking her legs up onto the computer desk. “I mean, the Internet has got a lot of information, but the majority of it is bullshit. People will believe anything as long as it’s got an official sounding URL.”

 

“Tell me about it.” Is there a reason she’s still talking to him? Had he not made his intentions perfectly clear when he’d secluded himself in the farthest and darkest possible corner of the Library? Sehun squints at her. Her body language suggests nothing intentionally seductive, and he’s had the unfortunate luck of having girls flirt with him. At least he doesn’t have to prepare himself for that shitfest.

 

“Everyone knows all the good stuff’s in the old books that no one bothered to transfer to online sources. You wanna talk demons and occult? The Internet’s got nothing on my stash of know how.”

 

“What kind of know how?” Sehun straightens. She's actually caught his interest now.

 

“I’m a bit of a collector.” Amber shrugs, looking just as impressed with herself as Sehun is. “Started young, watched way too much Ghost Whisperer as a kid, and somehow just ended up collecting all the books I could find. Most of it’s ghosts and spirits info, but, I can appreciate delving into other realms. You can blame TV shows for that one.”

 

“So, you have books on demons? And occult? Are they legit? Can I see them?” Sehun asks.

 

"Sure thing, uh..." she looks awkward for a moment and Sehun realizes he hasn't yet told her his name.

 

"Oh, sorry umm.. I'm Sehun." he offers sheepishly.

 

"Thats a cute name." Amber flashes him a blinding smile.

 

Sehun blushes a little as he gets up from his seat, "So, Amber, lead the way."

 

\-----------

 

Amber, as it turns out, wasn’t pulling his leg. Her Demonic and Occult collection could easily be its own section in the library, volumes upon volumes of tomes stuffed under the cupboards of the front desk. Sehun doesn’t even question, just pulls the first one out he can grab and plops himself down at the nearest desk, ravenous and eager.

 

The text is in tiny faded print and Sehun has to squint with glasses and a borrowed flashlight from Amber to clearly make out each word, but he attacks the work with a vigor he’s never had with any college assignment.

 

“Do you believe in demons?”

 

It’s a weird question to be asking and Sehun feels like he’s seven years old and being asked if he believes that Bloody Mary haunts the bathroom in his second grade class, shoulders oddly tense as he directs the question at Amber.

 

She doesn’t respond at first, merely passing him another stack of books to look in. The library is practically empty, and there’s no one to blame for that but the broken AC, leaving the entire atmosphere so thick with humidity there’s a risk of drowning. Amber leans against the counter, the wiry muscle of her arms coiling as she swipes sweat off her forehead. The bandana tied in her hair makes her look like a propaganda poster from World War Two.

 

“What makes you ask?” She fans her face with a Library Hours pamphlet.

 

Sehun shrugs, walls coming up just as quickly as they’d come down. It’d been quiet, as it usually is in the library. They hadn't talked much and when they had, the conversations were one sided, Amber taking the lead and steering straight ahead into monologue-ing as Sehun politely nods. The change in pace is something they both notice, much to Sehun’s chagrin.

 

“Dunno. Just thinking about it. You’ve got all these books. You’re kind of…you’re a total geek about it, okay? I just assumed.”

 

“Didn’t you ever hear what they say about assuming?” Amber hops up on the counter, and from this height she’s exactly as tall as Sehun, leveling him with one of those calculating stares that make him feel uncomfortably exposed.

 

Sehun smooths his thumb over a crumpled page, giving up on a concrete answer just as Amber says, “Yes. I do. Before you ask why, or if I’ve ever seen one, know that I haven’t. I’m a goddamn Catholic and the only Spirit I was raised to believe in was the Holy One. The occult obsession sprouted from too much Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I got to college. And training to be a librarian, I’m sure you can guess that finding the books was easy.”

 

“But why do you believe? Especially with no credible proof or evidence of your own?”

 

“I just kind of got to the mindset of…if I can believe in heaven and hell, if I can believe a man walked on water and healed blind men. I’d be an idiot to not believe that there are evil beings among us and maybe some people get stuck here once they die.” Amber says, fidgeting with the knot on the bandana.

 

It seems logical, but the straight of it is that Sehun doesn’t believe in things, hasn’t for a long time. He knows the basic facts of a sucky existence and he’s never bothered to hope for more. Call him a pessimist; he’s just more prepared for the fact that most things people ‘believe’ in aren’t real. Sehun grinds his molars together and steers himself back to the topic.

 

“So you think ghosts and demons are stuck, here?"

 

“I dunno... I don’t think they’d want to stay here by choice, would you?”

 

Not the worst option in the world, being able to do telekinetic shit, being invisible to everyone, not having anyone talk to you, or ask about you, or wonder if you’re feeling okay. Actually sounds kind of peaceful.

 

“You’re the occult expert,” is all he says.

 

“Do you?” She asks.

 

“Believe?” Sehun takes the end of a page between his fingers, enjoying the sound of old paper rustling against his skin. “Never really thought about it before. I just think this occult and demonic shit is cool.”

 

It doesn’t matter what Amber thinks. She might be the only person besides Jongin that treats him like something like a friend. He’s not about to jeopardize that by announcing that he’s been conversing with Biblical demons in his bed room.

 

It’s best to leave it be. That’s Sehun’s new policy on life. Leave things be and let things happen and don’t pick fights with things that can be dealt with just by leaving them alone.

 

_Leave it be._

 

He plans on doing exactly that.

 

\--------------------------------

 

It's dark outside again when he finally leaves the premises of the library and walks towards his car with a bag of Chinese take out in his hand, thanks to Amber. They had eaten pizza as lunch as they had sat there the whole day, pouring over books upon books about demons and spirits and surprisingly, Sehun enjoyed her company. She wasn't as talkative when she had books in front of her and he felt peaceful in her quiet company, but unfortunately, their joint effort had not lead to any success on Sehun's pesky little problem.

 

He pinches the bridge of his nose as he drives, trying to keep in mind that in the grand total of options he has, there is pretty much one.

 

Getting rid of the seven demons isn’t possible at the moment, not until he has the proper research and materials to get the job done. He’d barely even tapped the mountain of information on exorcisms, and couldn’t even fathom the amount of effort that would take. No, he wouldn’t get rid of them unless they became a problem.

 

Right now, unfortunately, it’s more of a nuisance than an actual problem.

 

Sehun doesn’t have the funds to call a professional, one of those so-called ‘exorcists’ that helps demons go back to hell, according to his research. He’ll have to try more home grown methods. See if he can’t pull up some ‘Demon Extermination for Dummies’ at the library the next time he visits. Not that he’ll definitely use it, but then again, he should probably be prepared for any outcome at this point.

 

He contemplates what he's gonna do as he pulls up in his driveway, looking up at the mansion that currently house seven rather powerful demons and - hopefully - him, a defenseless 20 year old college student.

 

He squares his shoulders as he walks in and closes the door behind him. He thinks he can hear faint tinkling piano music, but he focuses on the task at hand. He has to make himself absolutely clear, especially with Jongin coming over tomorrow.

 

He clears his throat loudly, hoping that at least one of them is near enough to hear. He doesn't know if he can call them by their names yet.

 

No response.

 

He clears his throat again, "Uhh... _Guys?_ " he asks tentatively.

 

The tinkling music comes to a stop, Sehun hopes that means they're listening. He tries to make his voice more authoritative sounding as he presses on;

 

_“Alright. Here’s the deal.”_ Sehun clears his throat again loudly. “Let me make this crystal clear. I am not gonna leave this house. You live in - _haunt_ in - my house and you steal and hide my stuff and generally terrorize me to the point where I actually want to kill you, even if that might not be possible. So you all can stay, but just know that I’m not happy about it, and if you piss me off enough, you all will be gone. I can…cope with having you all around. You’re annoying as shit, let’s make that clear, but as long as you don’t make too much of a ruckus, or go near my friends…you can stay.”

 

Silence.

 

There's suddenly a loud sound like the crack of a whip and Baekhyun, accompanied by Chanyeol and Kyungsoo materialize in front of him out of thin air. Both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol are glaring daggers at him and Sehun quakes a little in his shoes, hoping he didn't piss them off too much. Baekhyun on the other hand, just smirks.

 

"Aww, so little Sehunnie actually has friends? Or are they imaginary?" Baekhyun teases but Sehun is still focused at the other two, especially Kyungsoo, who seems to be on the verge of murdering Sehun with his bare hands.

 

_"And what exactly do you mean by **'you all will be gone'**?"_ Kyungsoo says through gritted teeth _"how do you plan on doing that?"_

 

"I'll call an exorcist?" Sehun says, realizing too late how absolutely lame it sounds.

 

Chanyeol outright laughs. He flails his arms around, smacking everything within a five feet radius, including Kyungsoo. The latter's expression has also softened and he almost looks amused at Sehun.

 

"You do realize we're not just any third tier demons, right? We've been around since the _creation of humanity,_ I could break your and any exorcist's neck right now with a snap of my finger. You can't just exorcise us, _idiot._ " Kyungsoo almost smiles at the idea of snapping his neck.

 

_How absolutely wonderful._

 

"Anyway, all of us had a discussion today, and we've come to the decision that _you're_ allowed to stay, as long as _you_ don't cause any trouble to _us,_ don't tell anyone about us or try to be slick." Kyungsoo continues, mirth leaving his face and expression hardening again, "Minseok and Jongdae will be sharing a room so Baekhyun will be moving and you can have his room. I think I've made myself clear enough. Goodnight." And with another sound like the crack of a whip, he's gone again, leaving behind a smiling Baekhyun and teary-from-laughter Chanyeol.

 

"That was a cute threat. At least you tried." Chanyeol says, grinning at Sehun.

 

"Where are the others?" Sehun asks, trying to swerve further humiliation.

 

"Junmyeon is sleeping and Yixing is sulking in the piano room as usual." Chanyeol says, smile still on his lips and Sehun notes that he has dimples as well.

 

"And you don't want to know what Jongdae and Minseok are doing in their room." Baekhyun wiggles his eyebrows.

 

Sehun grimaces.

 

"So you were not joking about having friends? I thought you were a socially secluded murderer on the run or something." Baekhyun bursts into conversation, "you've lived here for almost _a week_ and you've had no calls and no visitors."

 

"Funny you ask, I have a friend coming over tomorrow." Sehun says pointedly, "so it'd be really cool if your gang stopped throwing shit around and playing music while he's here, since I'm not supposed to tell anyone about you weirdos."

 

"Is he hot?" Baekhyun shoots back and now it's Sehun's turn to glare.

 

Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol snigger at that. They honestly seem like the friendliest of the lot and Sehun finds himself not as annoyed as he'd like to feel around them.

 

"Maybe we will, maybe we won't." Chanyeol says, mischievous smile playing at his lips, "it's your job to make sure no one knows, not ours."

 

"See ya tomorrow, sleep well and call me if you need company in bed!" Baekhyun winks.

 

And with a **crack** they were both gone.

 

Laughing hoarsely at his luck, Sehun makes his way up the stairs to his room. He collapses on the bed and punches his pillow into a more comfortable shape and closes his eyes.

 

Considering the days’ events, he should be screaming and crying, having some violent panic attack in response to all of this. Maybe he’s good at denial, or maybe he’s just really good at adapting.

 

It doesn’t matter either way; he’s out like a light in seconds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first two chapters are kinda slow burn and barely any Jongin, I know. Hopefully you guys liked it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the whole thing written already but the formatting is taking so much time :(  
> I'll upload the next part today or maybe tomorrow. Enjoy!

Sunday morning leaves Sehun almost reluctant to open his eyes when he wakes up. He’s not sure that keeping his eyes closed helps per se, but the idea that he can keep reality shut out of his head for a little while longer is comforting, to say the least.

 

As a little kid, prolonging the inevitable wake up became habit. It came with the unspoken rule that seeing was believing. If he could just keep his eyes closed long enough, he wouldn’t have to see the rest of the world or face the reality of his terrible home life.

 

It was ridiculous, a childish concept, but for the few moments he was awake, eyes firmly shut tight, it was nice to imagine that things were as they used to be, to make up some fantasy happy ending where Dad and Mom never fought, where they weren't so ridiculously strict to the point of being abusive, where he didn't have an ex who picked fights over the slightest things like the temperature of their morning coffee or who forgot to turn off the hallway light. He pretended he lived in a reality where nothing ever went wrong and Sehun never felt sad, or angry.

 

Sehun doesn’t pretend anymore like he did then, but it’s comforting enough to think he still can.

 

Behind the safe darkness of closed lids, Sehun thinks out words in big block letters, willing them to be truth. He never had a fall out with his family, they never kicked him out, he never lived with an abusive piece of shit and he never lost his job and didn't have to move into an abandoned old house haunted by seven demons - he’ll walk down the old familiar staircase and there will be fresh omelettes and coffee and Dad will be reading the Sunday paper and that’ll be that.

 

His eyes snap open, taking in a blank wall and large window connected to a giant room.

 

It had been nice while it lasted, but with morning comes reality, unfortunately.

 

Sehun gets up from his bed, sheds his boxers and clambers into the shower, cranking the pressure up to wake him further. Assuming he stays here throughout his college years, or until he finds a new well paying job, what will Sehun do about all this mess? Will they give Sehun privacy, _will Sehun even be allowed privacy?_ Had Baekhyun seen Sehun naked already? 

 

He felt weird. It was not as if he was ashamed of his body, but he struggled with confidence - he basically had none. No one does when their life is a fucking joke, and Sehun's life is a bad joke. Why Baekhyun was even initially interested in him in the first place was beyond Sehun.

 

But Kyungsoo had said Baekhyun would bone anyone as long as they moved, hadn't he? Sehun had absolutely no reason to feel special just because the Demon of Lust was interested in him - he was probably interested in everybody.

 

Sehun finishes the rest of the shower relatively quickly, emerging into a steam filled bathroom and wrapping a towel around his waist. He halts sharply, blinking owlishly at the childlike smiley face etched into the steam on the bathroom mirror, signed off with a "~C". Chanyeol’s awake, or, present, or whatever, and decided to leave Sehun a good morning message.

 

The fact that whole thing is really fucking weird is not lost on Sehun.

 

He sighs, this is no time to have a breakdown. Jongin will be coming by in the morning with his gaming console so they can spend the day playing Mario Kart like they used to back in high school. Sehun smiles a little at the thought. He should go and make some breakfast for both of them and hope to hell none of his paranormal housemates make a scene today.

 

\-----------------

 

Jongin keeps his promise because by 11 am, Sehun's running towards the front door to answer the insistent loud knocking bordering on banging. For all his swiftness and beauty when he dances on stage, Jongin's never been a graceful person in real life. Just one of his many quirks Sehun adores.

 

He opens the door and is greeted by his best friend's blinding smile. It takes him a second to tear his eyes off Jongin's face to the gaming console in his hand - Sehun can't wait to start. He finds himself sporting a wide grin to match Jongin's; _today's gonna be a good day._

 

They clamber up the stairs to Sehun's bedroom and plug in his laptop to the console, surrounding themselves with party sized packs of chips and cans of coke.

 

"Loser has to carry the winner's bag in college for a whole week. Deal?" Jongin quirks an eyebrow at Sehun as they finally settle in, controllers in hand. Usually in their matches the loser treats the winner to food or a new game, but Sehun was broke after buying the mansion and Jongin knew, so this was a better alternative, and Sehun is grateful for that, so he nods.

 

They start up the game and just as they are about to press play, Sehun's bedroom door creaks open slightly, followed by a cool breeze.

 

Both Jongin and Sehun freeze on spot, and the former looks questioningly at Sehun. Before Sehun can think up some bullshit answer, there's a slight creak on the bed behind them and the mattress sinks a little, as if one or more people have sat down and this time Jongin looks positively spooked. The armchair to the right of the room rocks a little and stills. Sehun curses under his breath.

 

 _"You were not making shit up, were you?"_ Jongin mouths, eyes wide, _"This place really might be haunted?"_

 

_Fuck fuck fuck._

 

"Uh no, it's because this is an old ass house" Sehun explains, making shit up as he goes, "so, um.. it has a lot of, like - uh - cracks and holes and stuff, you know? So the wind keeps entering through these places and keeps making wheezing and whistling sounds that kinda sound like music if the air is damp enough." That was the lamest excuse, but Sehun hopes Jongin will buy it.

 

Jongin looks a little less alarmed than before but still unconvinced as he stares suspiciously at the mattress behind him "And what about _that?_ "

 

"Old mattress and bad springs." Sehun's getting good at this.

 

"I guess that explains it." Jongin finally turns back to face the screen and scoots closer to Sehun until they're practically squished together in the middle of this huge bed. "It's cold." Jongin grunts as an explanation, not that Sehun was complaining in the first place.

 

With Jongin's warmth pressing into him and his heart fluttering like crazy, Sehun's pretty damn sure he's gonna lose this game; he can't even concentrate on the screen, euphoria and anxiety clouding his brain - because on one hand, Jongin is here pressed up beside him playing together like the old happier days, but on the other hand, he's pretty sure the door creak and mattress sink means that there's company sitting right behind them.

 

It's hard playing with your mind entirely on other topics and predictably, Sehun loses the first round rather spectacularly and Jongin is laughing so hard at him that he chokes on air and Sehun has to slap his back a few times to calm him down. He doesn't mind losing though, Jongin's laughs make it worthwhile.

 

But as they go into the second, third, fourth and fifth round, Jongin starts losing - and losing by an increasing margin, as his movements become slower. He fails to dodge Sehun's shells, slips on banana peels and swiftly drives off track to the point where Sehun's starting to worry that Jongin might be falling asleep or something.

 

It's 3:30 pm and Sehun's leading 27 to 8 when he finally puts his controller down and rounds on Jongin, who indeed has half lidded eyes at this point.

 

"Are you okay? Did you even sleep last night?"

 

"I did," Jongin manages to say through a yawn. "I dunno why, I just feel really sleepy and tired."

 

Sehun puts the back of his palm against Jongin's forehead, but the temperature seems quite normal. His confusion probably appears on his face, because Jongin swats his hand away and sniggers, "You won this time by pure luck, don't think I would go this easy on you next time."

 

"Did you lose intentionally? Because this is probably the worst I've seen you play in my _whole_ life." Sehun chides and Jongin makes a face.

 

"Just because you're my best friend doesn't mean that I'll let you win, you ass. _Mario Kart is war._ There's no love or friendship on the battlefield." Jongin starts a monologue, but pouts when Sehun laughs, "You get to make me carry your bag around this week, but next time I'm gonna make you my little bitch, mark my words, Oh Sehun."

 

" _Sure thing_ , baby boy" Sehun teases, easily jumping out of the way of Jongin's lethargic incoming punch as they make their way together to the front gate to see him off.

 

"See you at college tomorrow!" Sehun shouts as Jongin rolls out of the driveway in his Honda. He closes the doors and makes his way back to his room, thanking the gods that the demons didn't cause any particularly inexplicable demonic activity.

 

As soon as he enters his room, he's greeted by Junmyeon and Yixing sitting on his bed, Baekhyun on the armchair and Chanyeol perched on top of the window sill.

 

"You're welcome." Chanyeol flashes him a full toothed smirk.

 

"For what? Almost scaring off my friend?" Sehun is instantly annoyed and he doesn't try to hide it.

 

"No, _for making you win_." Junmyeon quips from the bed.

 

"What do you mean? _What did you do to him_?" he immediately panics. If they did something to Jongin -

 

"Calm down, Junmyeon just made him feel tired and sluggish, so that his reflexes became slow. He'll recover as soon as he's out of the premises of the house." Baekhyun says, sensing Sehun's rising fear.

 

"You guys can control peoples' feelings? But - Wait. What about Yixing? You were there too right? Behind us?" He asks the tall boy slumped against the headboard of the bed.

 

"Oh, I just made him feel a little bit hopeless every time he started gaining on you, so that he lost confidence and you won." Yixing smiles tentatively.

 

" _You made him feel hopeless?_ Why on earth would you do that? It was _just_ a fucking game! I didn't ask for this!" He shouts at Yixing who recoils a little, looking hurt. Sehun immediately feels guilt rise up in his chest.

 

Junmyeon's eyes flash black and Chanyeol jumps down from the window sill, "He didn't make your friend _depressed_ , you asshole. It was only for fun. Like he said, he just lost a little bit of confidence while gaming. He's back to his old self by now."

 

Sehun feels even more bad for losing his temper now. "Umm.. Y-Yixing? Listen, I'm sorry, it's just that he's my _best friend_ , so I'm just very protective of him and -"

 

Baekhyun snorts but Yixing gets up from the bed and gives Sehun a one armed squeeze - a _hug_ , maybe? - and a gentle smile, before muttering "It's okay, I just thought you'd like to win, you seemed really excited for today." and before he can say anything else, Yixing's already out the door.

 

Junmyeon lets out a tired sigh, and with a sharp **crack** , he's disappeared as well.

 

Sehun flops down on the bed and looks up at Chanyeol and Baekhyun, "What did you mean? You guys can control peoples' emotions?"

 

"Well, not _control_ them per se, but we can exaggerate and slightly manipulate. Like if you want something but can't afford it, you'll just let it go, right? But Minseok can turn that slight want into full fledged greed till you rob a bank to get it. Kyungsoo can make you angry to the point you strangle someone who you were just a little annoyed at." Baekhyun smiles as if it isn't the most horrifying thing he's said.

 

Sehun stares wide eyed, "Don't do that again please —"

 

"But just because we can doesn't mean we do. We never do that. We're not bloodthirsty monsters, you know?" Baekhyun insists and Sehun finds himself believing the boy even though he doesn't want to.

 

He sighs, "Why did you guys try so hard to make me win, though?"

 

"Well seeing as Jongin said that he'd have to do your bidding for a week, we did it as a favour to you." Baekhyun replies.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Do I _really_ have to spell it out for you?" Chanyeol rolls his eyes at Sehun's blank expression, "You have a crush on your best friend."

 

Sehun chokes on air, "I- no, _NO!_ I don't have a crush on him! He's my - my _childhood best friend_. So of course we are close! There's NO crush! _None_!"

 

Baekhyun laughs and Chanyeol presses on; "Listen, I know what a best friend is. Me and Baek right here have been best friends since before your great great great grandpa was even conceived. And we even cuddle sometimes, but neither of us pop a heart boner or an actual boner when we cuddle, even less so when our knees touch."

 

"I did _NOT_ pop a -" Sehun starts indignantly, but Baekhyun cuts him off.

 

"You were blushing, and I think Jongin was blushing too. So there might be a mutual crush. Nice choice, by the way, he's smoking hot, I'd wanna bang him too."

 

"He doesn't have a crush on me and neither do I! _And don't try to jump his ass!_ " Sehun hisses, but he feels his cheeks get hot again. Baekhyun just smirks knowingly.

 

"Whatever you say, Sehunnie" Chanyeol teases, "just know that we've lived together with Jongdae and Minseok for millenias. Even if you might not, we know what heart eyes look like." He winks at Sehun.

 

Blushing furiously, Sehun throws a pillow at Chanyeol to shut him off but with a flick of his finger Chanyeol sends the same pillow flying back towards Sehun at breakneck speed, who ducks just in time to avoid it hitting him in the face.

 

Before he can even move, there's more pillows raining down on him and Sehun can hear Chanyeol and Baekhyun cackling madly as he gets buried under more and more pillows.

 

When finally the avalanche stops and Sehun digs himself out of half a roomful of pillows, both Chanyeol and Baekhyun are gone.

 

Surprisingly, Sehun discovers that he _doesn't_ want to murder them like he promised.

 

\-----------


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay!  
> i hope it's not lame

Sehun's decision to leave it be turns out to be equal points effective and moot simultaneously. He stands by his new goal, doesn’t once mention the demons to anyone - not even Amber or Jongin, even though he frequents both the town library and college. There are no more panic attacks, and Sehun enters his house every day with a solid routine of whispering “Hey guys” to an empty living room.

 

Someone replies every time, almost instantly. It’s kind of like Sehun has a neurotic puppy that he can’t see, the only evidence of its actual existence being visible once they appear out of thin air to great him back. Sometimes they don't even bother to become visible - the books or other stuff they knock over in response serve as an acknowledgement that they know he's home.

 

It’s a pretty strange habit to slip into, saying hello to someone he can't see every time he enters his own house.

 

Whenever he returns after college and enters his room, he's sure to find Chanyeol and Baekhyun sitting there waiting for him, sometimes with a few of the other guys, sometimes alone; sometimes visible, other times invisible. There’s some weird Nuclear Family shit going on, Sehun coming home every day and greeting his spouse — well, two spouses — spouses who have been patiently waiting for him to return. He’s so committed to the routine of it all that the impulse to say “Honey I’m home!” is scarily overwhelming.

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol, however, are nowhere near as accommodating as TV suburban spouses. They're quite the opposite, actually - more of a petulant child who occasionally gets needy and temperamental, Sehun is quick to learn. The others are nice and friendly to him, Kyungsoo sometimes helps him cook, Jongdae and Minseok sit around telling him stories of centuries old battles they witnessed and generally being loud, Yixing plays the piano to calm him down when he can't concentrate or cheer him up when he's feeling anxious and Junmyeon, _after a lot of insisting,_ sometimes helps him do his assignments; but none of them become as attached to him as Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

 

He understands why they are best friends, they both crave attention every second or they might spontaneously combust, and now they want to indoctrinate Sehun into their doublet to make it a triplet. He frequently wakes up in the middle of the night to the sound of his clothes being kicked across the room, or books slapping to the floor after ‘falling’ from the bookshelf, all in their attempt to get his attention.

 

It seems, additionally, that ignoring their antics only makes them try harder to be noticed. A lack of response to any shenanigans they pull or any question they ask usually results in them taking offence and hiding Sehun’s phone, or tearing Sehun’s assignments neatly in half, mid-air. The demand for attention drives Sehun absolutely crackers at first, and he spends several nights hissing _“Baekhyun, Chanyeol, quit it!”_ as his boxers begin to float around the room, he even swats at the air a few times. Sometimes he wakes up at night to realize he's pressed between their bodies and _being cuddled by them_ (though thankfully, Baekhyun doesn't try to get into his pants again, except some mild grinding his ass into Sehun's crotch that Sehun resolutely ignores). They try ripping his blankets off when Sehun attempts sleeping in on college days. If anything, it seems like they like the sound of their own name, or at least, like it when Sehun is using it with a mildly threatening tone.

 

He has long since given up any hope he had for privacy, because they make it clear that they have absolutely no concept of personal space whatsoever. Anytime he's tried locking the door, they'd come barging in, slamming the door open with a touch of their fingers and seating themselves on his bed or chair, looking up at him expectantly, as if expecting an answer for why he tried to shut them out.

 

They don’t seem to like silence, ironically the one thing in this world that Sehun can’t get enough of.

 

So to placate the pesky side of them, and save his own peace of mind, Sehun talks.

 

He’s never been much of a talker. Though he has plenty of thoughts and opinions, he keeps most of it to himself. But with an expectant Chanyeol and Baekhyun talking non-stop in front of him, who seemingly spend all day waiting for Sehun to come home and give them attention, Sehun’s got to change that.

 

Talking turns out to be not as hard as Sehun thought it would be. He doesn’t spill his guts, but, grudging as it is to admit, being able to talk without fear of judgment and having someone listen, and talk back, fill in the awkward silences with stupid banter and laugh at his stupid occasional joke; it’s... _nice_ , so nice that Sehun keeps talking. He keeps talking about whatever he likes, a constant string of words spilling from his lips with a relaxed casualness that he wasn't even aware existed in him. Sehun’s more surprised than anything that Chanyeol and Baekhyun are willing to listen to him talk about his day at college, what his favorite foods are and other mundane things.

 

They, as demons, don't have to eat food to survive, but since they spend more time in their corporeal form than not these days, Baekhyun and Chanyeol, along with the rest of the demons occasionally eat with him at the dinner table as well. Sometimes Kyungsoo, Minseok and Jongdae even prepare full dinners for all eight of them, Sehun doesn't ask where they got the ingredients from, he just sits with them and enjoys the food and light banter. It's almost like having friends and family, with the added benefit that they could vanish and leave you alone when you are feeling down. But they don't; and Sehun finds that he doesn't mind not being left alone.

 

The thing is, in the past three months that Sehun has inhabited this house, he hasn't spent much time sulking like he usually did. It's almost impossible to be sad around here with the constant chattering, piano music that is becoming livelier as each day passes and Chanyeol and Baekhyun, sometimes accompanied by Jongdae, causing complete ruckus around the house, pulling pranks and causing general madness.

 

He thinks he can get used to not sulking; can get used to the ruckus.

 

He can get used to all _this._

 

\-----------------------------

 

These days Sehun is in a not-so-pissed-off mood most of the time, even in college he has learnt to not look homicidal and he even talks to some of his classmates. Though its too early to call them 'friends', they can definitely be categorized as 'close acquaintances'. Sitting in the library with Amber helps him calm down when it all gets too overwhelming. He has found a balance in his life and it shows.

 

Jongin is fast to notice his change in behaviour. Even though he had dropped by a few times after that Sunday, they hadn't found much time to hang out except college, thanks to Sehun juggling studies and a new found home life while Jongin tries to find balance between dance club and academics. That, however, doesn't stop Jongin from cornering Sehun in the entrance hall of their college and demanding Sehun to walk him up to where Jongin is parked, because he needs to find his practicing clothes.

 

"Sure thing" is Sehun's answer, and so they walk across the parking lot for fifteen minutes because _of course_ Jongin forgot where he parked.

 

Once they finally manage to spot Jongin's car at the far end of the lot and retrieve his track pants and ratty old t-shirt from the back seat, Jongin grabs his arm and and asks, "Do you have a new boyfriend?"

 

The randomness and bluntness of the question catches him off guard and leaves Sehun so completely disarmed that he sputters out a half convincing "no" that Jongin just brushes off.

 

"Listen, I know you're a grown adult and you have no obligation to tell me about your romantic life but as your best friend -"

 

Sehun knows the famous Jongin Monologue™ is coming and hastily interrupts before it can reach full potential.

 

"I do _NOT_ have any boyfriends, Kim Jongin" He says, pronouncing each word with distinct vigor. That seems to calm Jongin down a bit, so Sehun presses on, "Why are you even asking this all of a sudden in the first place?"

 

Now it's Jongin's turn to look sheepish.

 

"It's just that, you know, you're coming out of your shell, and - _don't get me wrong, I'm really happy you're making new friends_ \- but I was just wondering what was the reason behind you being so sociable all of sudden so I thought you got a new boyfriend and I... umm..." Jongin trails off, looking defensive.

 

"You know you'll be the first person I tell if I get a boyfriend, right?" Sehun tries to reassure Jongin but his best friend suddenly seems closed off, almost distant.

 

"Yeah, of course, uh... listen, Sehun, I..." Jongin looks directly at Sehun, and for a second he looks small and vulnerable, but then that second is gone and that vulnerability is gone, replaced by an apologetic smile, " - I gotta go, I have dance practice in ten minutes, I'll see you later, yeah? Bye!" And then turns on his heel and breaks into a jog towards the college grounds.

 

"Okay... Bye, then" Sehun says at Jongin's retreating back.

 

\----------------------------

 

"Took you longer than usual to return today." Chanyeol states, as soon as Sehun enters his room. "Where were you?" Baekhyun quips, appearing beside him with a loud **crack.**

 

"Thank you for the warm welcome" Sehun deadpans as he flops down on the bed, facing the two.

 

Neither laugh, both looking intently at Sehun, waiting for an answer. _Jesus, since when did they become so possessive?_

 

"I was talking to Jongin."

 

Baekhyun immediately perks up, wriggling his eyebrows and nudging Chanyeol.

 

"We didn't do anything, Baek. Calm down." Sehun makes a face.

 

"Then what?" Chanyeol's voice is filled with more curiosity than this topic deserves, so Sehun tells them everything - Jongin cornering him, asking about his relationships, how he seemed like he bit something back, et al.

 

"How long will you two keep doing this dance? It's getting old now." Baekhyun grimaces when Sehun finally finishes.

 

"What dance? He's the one in the Dance Club, not me." Sehun reminds him.

 

"He means when are you two gonna fess up your feelings and finally get together? How are you even in college with that much stupidity?" Chanyeol says incredulously.

 

Sehun sighs. Is there a point in hiding? All three of them know Sehun has a big fat crush on his best friend even if he keeps pretending that he doesn't. The other demons have long since left the topic alone once they discovered his reluctance to discuss it, and Baekhyun and Chanyeol play along with his faked obliviousness most of the time, not pressuring him, but subtly teasing and encouraging him to make a move in spite of Sehun's continuous distaste in doing so.

 

He wants to, of course. _Dear god, he wants it more than anything._ Wants to tell Jongin how much he means to Sehun, how much he wants wrap Jongin in his arms and kiss his forehead and hold his hand and never let go. He has wanted to tell Jongin since he was eighteen.

 

But he can't.

 

He just can't bring himself to say it. He doesn't deserve his best friend, not at all. Sehun is an antisocial loser who keeps running into trouble and dragging down everyone around him along for the ride, he can't do that to Jongin. He doesn't want to risk the friendship they have, Sehun's past relationships have been shitty enough to make him sure that he's not an easy or pleasant person to live with, he doesn't want to subject Jongin to that. And that's assuming that Jongin would even say 'yes'.

 

Sehun's not delusional. Jongin and him might've been inseparable since middle school, but that doesn't mean he is anywhere near Jongin's league. Jongin has girls and boys tripping over themselves for his attention, and with a face and body like that, who'd blame them? And as if to make him even more perfect, Jongin is a sweetheart. The sex-bomb/bad-boy persona he has on stage is only just that - a persona. Sehun's Jongin is goofy and adorable. He cries into the crook of Sehun's neck when they watch sad movies, volunteers at animal shelters on weekends and when not practicing, spends his free time either cuddling his dogs or wrapped up in blankets - sleeping or playing video games.

 

He loves his Jongin and he knows that, has known that for a long time now.

 

But Sehun also knows himself too, and maybe that's why just can't bring himself to do it. He can't put Jongin on the spot, because Jongin deserves so much better than Sehun, someone better looking, more confident, someone with lesser baggage than him, someone who'll take care of Jongin. He's not any of that. He can't give Jongin the love and attention he deserves when Sehun can't even handle himself and has been a mess half his life.

 

He can't do that.

 

"I don't have any feelings to 'fess up'." Sehun finally says. 

 

"Listen, I need sleep, can you guys just excuse me for today?" he sounds tired, _he feels tired_ , voice unsteady. 

 

Chanyeol and Baekhyun seem to register the slight waver in his voice too.

 

The look they give him is piercing and speculative; Sehun feels exposed, like he's being cut open, guts spilled out to be examined under a microscope, but he holds their gaze, resilient.

 

They give him a curt nod, and then they're gone out the door, leaving Sehun to stew in his own thoughts and emotions.

 

\---------------------------


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so SO sorry for the delay. I was in college and couldn't find the time to update, it's been so hectic for me :(  
> I hope you guys like it!

As the new year rolls in, Sehun finds a job.

 

The moment there was a position opening at the Library, Amber had called him, asking if he was interested and Sehun had said yes. His salary isn't in the millions, but it's quite enough, and he starts saving again.

 

The thing is, _he's turning his life around._

 

He doesn't know when it happened - or if it's still some weird drawn out dream, because - really? A depressed loser moves in with seven demons and suddenly his life is improving within months? Sounds like a cheap fantasy children's sitcom of you ask Sehun. 

 

His grades are tons better, thanks to Kyungsoo, Junmyeon and Minseok collectively fretting over his studies. He's learning to play the piano from Yixing and Chanyeol. But most of all, spending time with them, mostly Baekhyun, Jongdae and Chanyeol somehow made him come out of all the self wallowing and seek out other people to talk to. For the first time since middle school, Sehun has _friends_ , friends that he hangs out with, goes to movies with and plays video games with - other than Jongin.

 

And Jongin. Jongin himself is like a puzzle. After the parking lot drama in November, he had actively avoided Sehun for a whole entire week and after that when they finally started talking and hanging out again, it had been a roller coaster. Jongin was equal parts more clingy and shut off, and it was driving Sehun up the wall.

 

No matter how much Sehun denies it, him and his paranormal 'family' know exactly how much Sehun wants his best friend, specially Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Those two also seem to know every uncomfortable detail about Sehun's fears and worries, and exactly why he doesn't want to make a move on Jongin. They still don't stop pestering him about it though.

 

On the last day of college before 14th January, Jongin's birthday, Sehun finds himself cornered in the parking lot again, by none other than Kim Jongin himself.

 

"We're going on a camping trip on my birthday." Jongin states matter-of-factly.

 

_"What?!"_ Sehun is caught off guard again. This feels too deja vu for comfort.

 

"On my birthday. To commemorate our decade old friendship." Jongin glares at Sehun, _"No 'if's or 'but's"_ he adds just as Sehun opens his mouth.

 

"I- I dunno, Jongin.." Sehun stutters, "I'll tell you if I can manage, I need to leave now, got a job, you know?" he turns around and walks off towards his beat up old truck, not daring to look at Jongin's face. Holy fuck, he hates how awkward he is. 

 

As soon as he reaches home and narrates to Chanyeol and Baekhyun in hopes that they'll sympathize with him, he finds himself again cornered his room by Chanyeol and Baekhyun blocking his exit and demanding why exactly he hadn't told Jongin yes. Sehun is getting tired of this shit.

 

"None of your business." he snaps.

 

_"Exactly my business."_ Chanyeol snaps back and Sehun is ready to fucking fight. He knows that either of them can break his neck with a flick of their pinky finger but he's not in the mood to discuss this.

 

He might be close to them, they might know everything there is to know about him, they might even be the 'people' he's closest to on this planet after Jongin, but he's _NOT_ going to sit here and talk about his insecurities. Not even if they already know about it, which they probably do.

 

"We know." Baekhyun says, as if he's reading his mind. Sehun glares at him.

 

_"I told you a million times that we can't read minds."_ Baekhyun adds exasperatedly when he notices his expression and Sehun makes a face. These idiots do know him too well.

 

"Listen, I don't understand why you keep avoiding the subject when both of you are crushing on each other so damn hard." Chanyeol continues, "You know what else I don't understand? What I don't understand is why on earth do you think so lowly of yourself."

 

Well, there is it is again. Out in the open and under a microscope for them to to cut and dissect and examine. Sehun turns his head away, he's not ready for this.

 

"Listen, Sehun. I don't know why you keep being so hard on yourself -" Chanyeol starts and Sehun attempts to swerve past him, not willing to sit through a god damned _demon-therapy session,_ but Baekhyun grabs his shirt and they sit him down on the bed, towering menacingly over him, like angry parents scolding their toddler for making crayon drawings on the wall.

 

_"- Sehun! Why don't you fucking listen once in a while?"_ Chanyeol sounds frustrated and angry now, the ear-to-ear smile he sports around Sehun and puppy-like clingyness long gone.

 

"What am I supposed to be listening to?" Sehun huffs, finally giving up. He can't really win a fist fight against a demon.

 

_"That you're not the loser you make yourself out to be!"_ Chanyeol flails his arms around wildly again and Baekhyun cautiously takes a precautionary step back. Sehun stifles a smile despite himself.

 

"I don't understand. You're not a dead weight, everyone has their baggage, you might wan't to think you're special and mysterious and damaged, but so is every other person. _This is not an anime_." he says and Baekhyun sits down beside Sehun, resting a hand on his thigh, small smile playing at his lips.

 

"Look, I know when we first met, you were weird, dumb and a low key loser -" Chanyeol continues and this time Sehun glares at him, but the taller boy doesn't stop, "- and an anti social recluse but now? _Look at you now!_ You're tons better! You have a steady job, your grades are doing well, you have a hobby, you have friends! _And Jongin likes you!_ He's giving you hints but you seem determined to put yourself down as much as possible. He's ready to take a chance with you but how can he do that if you don't give yourself a chance?"

 

"Look, I get it, I'm not that bad." Sehun says. Believe it or not, he's actually aware that he's not the biggest failure on this planet, although the thing with Jongin? He can't believe that his best friend would ever look at him and make heart eyes like Chanyeol and Baekhyun keep telling him. "But Jongin doesn't like me that way! He's just... He's trying to adjust to the change, thats why he's been acting differently."

 

"He said this ain't an anime, but it could very well be, you know" Baekhyun offers airily from beside him and Sehun turns to look. "I mean, the level of unnecessary drama you manage to conjure in your life just because you're too fucking stupid to actually communicate is worthy of an anime storyline. You'd be a hot protagonist as well, you look like you jumped out of a manga." Baekhyun winks and Chanyeol groans.

 

"I feel like you just insulted and complimented me at once."

 

"That's because he did, you dumbass. I can't believe I'm out here trying to help you and you two are bantering about anime." Chanyeol sounds exasperated and Sehun returns the feeling wholeheartedly.

 

"I didn't ask for your help any-" Sehun starts but Baekhyun cuts him off;

 

"We decided your clueless ass needed it." he rolls his eyes.

 

_"You're going on the camping trip."_ Chanyeol says, an air of authoritative finality in his deep voice.

 

"But —"

 

"Sehun, please. Go on that trip, what's the worst that could happen? We're not asking you to strip naked and wait for him on the couch!" It's Baek's turn to gesture wildly and Chanyeol laughs so hard he's on the ground again. A smile tugs at the corner of Sehun's mouth despite himself; sometimes he wonders if these two are really demons or puppy-human hybrids.

 

_"Fine."_ He sighs and Baekhyun and Chanyeol jump up to high five each other.

 

\-------------------------------

 

So that's how on 14th January Sehun ends up in his truck with Jongin beside him and a long stretch of deserted road ahead of them that leads to only Jongin knows where, because he didn't want to let Sehun know.

 

There’s something extremely foolhardy about this entire endeavor, about swapping Cola and Cheetos and getting out of the truck every so often to find themselves in a different town, but that’s also kind of neat.

 

The humidity subtly shifts to arid heat, and they roll down the windows just as the sun is starting to sink. They’ve long ago left the jungles and moss, now driving through deeply lined canyon walls, winding roads that snake between large rock structures, building blocks and architecture set up long before modern technologies.

 

“Welcome, Sehunnie, to Westside Canyon.” Jongin grins, taking his turn at the wheel.

 

Camping had never really been a part of Sehun’s childhood, not since Boy Scout trips with his dad when he was a kid. Nature, really, hadn’t been part of his growing up either. He’d seen most of his country’s heartland through the truck window or TV screen.

 

But the canyon is huge, beautiful, thick red rocks standing like clay figures stacked one on top of the other, tall walls that swallow the truck and the sun up, casting them in shadow with rays of sun squinting over the rim.

 

“Alright, Sehun, time to get out there,” Jongin says.

 

“Come again?”

 

“Get out into the truck bed!”

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me."

 

Jongin slides the back window open invitingly. “Alright, you ready?”

 

Sehun isn’t ready; Sehun isn’t even sure what the hell he’s supposed to be doing.

 

“Go!” Jongin yells, hair blowing in the wind, smile crinkling up his eyes. “Go now!”

 

Sehun’s absolutely positive that Jongin will shove him out if he doesn’t move of his own volition, so there’s no argument to be made as he wedges his body through the tiny window and clambers into the pickup bed.

 

Sehun grips the roof of the truck as he stands, cool breeze whipping at his face and nearly knocking him over in the process. Music floats up from the front of the truck and through the open window, clanging off the canyon walls. Sehun soars, heart pounding, hearing the notes and the rumble of his truck through him as he flies.

 

“Scream!” Jongin commands, turning around so far the truck swerves out into the middle of the road and Sehun almost loses balance.

 

"NO!"

 

“C’mon Sehun!” Jongin yells. “I’ll do it with you!”

 

It feels a lot like taking some kind of weirdo leap of faith, only there’s no risk of falling. But Sehun’s got a feeling that if he doesn’t scream, doesn’t do whatever whack-a-do thing Jongin asks of him in this moment, that he’s going to lose something he’s only just begun to grasp.

 

So he stands to full height, leaning back on his heels and leaning into the wind pushing him further back as he holds on to dear life to the open edge of the truck bed.

 

And he screams.

 

The first scream tapers off into near hysterical laughter, cadenced with Jongin's resounding cheers.

 

Without a doubt it’s the stupidest most foolhardy thing Sehun’s ever done. But he glances down mid-crow and sees Jongin looking up at him through the back window and, yeah, that kind of makes it totally worth it. Jongin looks delighted, like Christmas came early and all the other holidays shortly after.

 

“Wish I had a camera right now, you look priceless!” he shouts, turning that full throttle smile of his over his shoulder at Sehun.

 

Something unlocks inside Sehun’s chest, which is silly because he’s not a heartess robot and implying that every heart has a key is incredibly cliché, but he honest to God feels it, and with it comes a swooping sensation that’s got nothing to do with the fact that they’re going about a hundred miles per hour and everything to do with that full throttle smile of his best friend.

 

By the time he gets back into the truck and is seated beside Jongin, he's grinning at Sehun like he won some kind of prize.

 

“Much more high pitched than I’d expected,” Jongin muses, not even ducking when Sehun calmly smacks him upside the head.

 

\------------------------

 

They reach the camping ground by dusk, lighting a fire and setting about their dinner of pan cooked corn and hot dogs without buns. Sehun brings out the miniature cake Kyungsoo helped him bake for Jongin's birthday and tries not to smile too hard when Jongin's face lights up with happiness.

 

They continue their usual banter, settling down in front of the fire on a log, huddling close together for warmth in the rapidly cooling temperatures of the desert, trying to name constellations in the clear night sky until it gets very late.

 

“Where the hell are we going to sleep?” Sehun asks as Jongin turns heel and heads for the truck. “Front seat can’t be all that comfortable.”

 

"In the bed" Jongin says as he opens the truck bed, unfurling his sleeping bag. As much as there is indeed a snarky response on the tip of his tongue, Sehun doesn't say it.

 

It’s a bit too chilly out for this to be entirely safe, but Jongin snuggles into the sleeping bag, kicking off his shoes and pulling the drawstring tight. He worms his way onto his back and pats the space beside him, ignoring Sehun's incredulous staring.

 

“We’re going to die of hypothermia.”

 

“Don’t be a drama queen. Get up here” Jongin whispers, low enough that his voice mixes with the desert breeze and the crickets in the distance.

 

“Why are we out here? Why not sleep inside the truck?”

 

Jongin sighs and stares pointedly up at the stars.

 

"Oh." Sehun blinks, tone altering.

 

He clambers up beside Jongin on the truck bed, turning up to look.

 

Sehun cranes his neck back to stare at the billions and trillions of stars scintillating like a dark black canvas leaking light down onto them, a soup of diamonds spilled over black velvet.

 

“See that one? Right there?” Jongin’s finger shoves its way into Sehun’s vision, making him go cross-eyed for a second as he follows the point into the sky. “The brightest one? That’s the Dog Star.”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

Jongin shrugs. “Dunno, I just kind of like the stars and stuff, so I know a bit here and there. This makes me happy.”

 

He points out a few more obvious ones, the big and little dippers, Orion’s belt, Cygnus, Andromeda. He recites the stories from textbook memory and Sehun suddenly understands that Jongin loves this stuff, possesses a natural curiosity for things billions of miles away.

 

He feels calm, listening to Jongin whisper about the universe around them. That’s the best word to describe the soothing lull of his blood as he stares up at the stars, sleep pulling him under a warmer blanket--

 

“Are you?”

 

Sehun’s eyes snap open and he looks over to where Jongin’s staring up at the sky.

 

“Am I what?”

 

Jongin looks over at him, “Happy?”

 

Sehun doesn’t say anything, just nods, but the pull of Jongin's lips as he grins at the sky tells Sehun he’s said the magic words to satisfy, even if he didn't actually say anything. Jongin nestles on the cold metal of the truck bed, looking only slightly pleased with himself. He snuggles nearer, and from this angle Sehun can make out the profile of his nose, the line of his jaw, the plush lips slightly chapped from the cold.

 

They're closer than ever now, bodies huddled together in a corner of the truck bed, their warm breath washing over each other, sending shivers up their spine in the freezing cold of the desert.

 

There is a pause, and Sehun feels the weight of Jongin’s gaze on him, as if it’s a tangible, substantial thing. They look at each other, and for one absolutely insane moment Sehun wonders if he should try and kiss him.

 

In the moonlight Jongin looks almost blue, that small private smile tugging at his lips that is really starting to throw Sehun off. _How dare_ Jongin smile like this, look curious and hesitant like this, be like this, be so god damn perfect and beautiful that Sehun's heart aches. _How dare he._

 

It never bothered Sehun before and now he feels his skin crawling with it. Like Jongin’s expressions and words are bugs burrowing themselves inside where Sehun can’t get at them, an intense feeling of want he can’t shake off.

 

“What is it?” Sehun’s voice is croaky. Sweat trickles down the column of his throat even in the cold breeze and Jongin’s eyes follow it.

 

"Nothing." Jongin smiles, eyes now tracing Sehun's lips.

 

Sehun really wanted to take things slow. Maybe ask Jongin out on a coffee date, bring him flowers, all that sappy shit, because Jongin deserves all that.

 

But he decides right here and now that it’s been slow enough and if he waits until he can run marathons, well, then it might never happen. Besides, Jongin’s beautiful in the moonlight, and Sehun’s never been patient. So he leans over and draws Jongin’s face to his, just like that.

 

The first kiss is too fast, too eager and in his excitement Sehun accidentally bites Jongin’s lip too hard and Jongin swears and flails, sputtering and choking on the cool night air. Sehun’s half apologetic, half hysterical with laughter, until Jongin grabs him by the collar and pulls him in again.

 

He holds his breath and dives in the plush of Jongin's lips, eyes closed, fingers fitting just so under his jaw, tilting it up as Sehun hovers above him, exhaling into Jongin, giving him all his breath sealed in a press of lips. They break apart, needing oxygen, but Jongin doesn’t let go of Sehun, doesn’t stop kissing him, so Sehun obliges, diving right back, biting the soft chapped lips that open eagerly to admit his tongue. And the first kiss was not perfect but the second is damn close, bodies clinging, mouths fitting, tasting like night dew and moondust.

 

It was just as magical as Sehun expected it to be, except ten times better. Their teeth clash together as they both smile into the kiss and for the second time that day, he feels like he's soaring. 

 

\------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I managed to capture Sehun's character development and him slowly coming out of depression? I've never experienced it, so I don't know if I've got it right. Please let me know!   
> I wanted them getting together be sweet and adorable, hopefully I achieved that?   
> Thank you so much for reading, there's just a short epilogue left :)


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aah the last chapter! It's gonna be short and super cheesy, just tying up all the strings.

A year ago if someone had told Sehun that by next Spring, he'd be dating Jongin, have two hyperactive demons as his best friends and an actual supernatural friend group that was damn close to a real family that also got along with his boyfriend, he'd have laughed in their face.

 

Introducing Jongin to them had been no problem at all; although Jongin initially wanted (as Sehun had predicted) to put Sehun in the nearest psych ward, once Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and the rest of them started appearing out of thin air one by one, it took surprisingly little time and lesser mental breakdowns than Sehun had expected to convince Jongin that _yes,_ Sehun had indeed been rooming with seven demons for the last year. His life could be a sitcom.

 

But now, sitting on the bench in front of the piano in his haunted mansion with his seven friends and the love of his life surrounding him, Sehun feels that maybe his life turned out okay after all.

 

Before putting his finger on the piano keys, he looks around the living room, takes in their disorganized CDs—weird sad classical music (Yixing's preference) and all—on the rack, the photos of the nine of them, all beaming, sitting in the kitchen together. Postcards and trinkets from his new friends, a few dozen books from Amber. And if the comfortable clutter weren’t enough, the walls are covered in photographs and weird keepsakes, it's like Jongin’s secretly determined to scrapbook every second of their time spent together (he'd been thrilled to find he could take the demons' pictures), to find and make meaning within every moment, including the DVD covers of the B-movies and weird horror flicks they sometimes see on weekends, the good fortunes from the cookies that come whenever they get Chinese takeout, even though Kyungsoo keeps insisting they belong in the trash.

 

There’s no telling about the happy ache in his ribs, the fullness of his heart, so Sehun swallows the lump in his throat and looks up at eight beaming faces.

 

“Wanna show you guys something I wrote,” Sehun says, and Junmyeon, Yixing, Kyungsoo and Minseok settle down on the window sill while Chanyeol Baekhyun and Jongdae wolf whistle when Jongin scoots over closer to Sehun than is necessary on the bench, knocking their knees and ankles by the foot pedals. “I’m still working on the full thing, but I think you’ll like it.”

 

His nimble and nervous fingers start slow, haltingly working over the keys. Piano lessons with Yixing and Chanyeol are hard to come by with Sehun's increasingly cluttered routine of _college—job—dates_ , but that’s okay, because the piece weaves its way in notes that overlap in waves, melodious, a happy tune with not a single key out of place.

 

Sehun’s hand darts up every few moments to shift the sheet music he wrote to the left as he continues, turning his face up to look at his eight favorite people in the universe, and he hopes by the half smile as he plays, by the way he keeps sneaking glances at them every few seconds, that they know it’s for them, a small thank you for being there for him when he wasn't there for himself.

 

Sehun used to hate everything. But maybe that’s because he wasn’t aware that this sort of feeling existed, having this many people care about him, and love him. He didn’t know how it would feel in his chest.

 

But now he does.

 

And, suffice to say, Sehun finds that he no longer hates everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. It's over. 
> 
> I tried my best to do justice to the awesome prompt, but I dunno how much I succeeded. 
> 
> Comments make me really really happy, so feel free to leave your input if you guys liked it or have suggestions for improvement. 
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


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